Yale University will no longer offer daytime door-to-door vehicle escorts after Feb. 28, the Yale Daily News reported. Door-to-door rides will still be offered to all students at night, and to those with disabilities at all times through a separate ride service. Although the daytime shuttle rides were never officially endorsed by the University, Yale Security frequently provided students and staff with rides when requests were made. Approximately two security employees managed the door-to-door service, but were unable to facilitate the daily volume of requests received. As a substitute for the daytime service, Yale administrators are encouraging students to use the University-operated shuttle routes to designated on-campus locations. Yale administrators said they hope that the elimination of the daytime door-to-door rides will allow for a more efficient use of campus security resources, the Daily News reported.
Leading education officials are concerned that HR 1 the budget bill passed in the U.S. House of Representative last week will drastically reduce funding for international student exchange programs, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. The bill would result in a 21 percent decrease in funding for exchange programs in the 2011 fiscal year. The decrease in program funds, compounded by the federal government's under-performance at 2010 spending levels, may lead to spending cuts for exchange programs that are closer to 40 percent, Michael McCarry, executive director of the Alliance for International Education and Cultural Exchange, said in an interview with The Chronicle. The legislation has not been assessed by the United States Senate or President Barack Obama, but some educators fear that the programs could be significantly reduced as a result of Congressional Republicans' commitment to decreased spending, The Chronicle reported.
The University of Massachusetts' endowment has surpassed $500 million for the first time in the University's history, The Boston Globe reported on Wednesday. The University's endowment which was $506 million as of Dec. 31 has been one of the fastest growing higher education institutional endowments in the country. In the 2010 fiscal year, the endowment expanded over 23 percent three times the national average. University President Jack Wilson said the dramatic increase in growth was a result of donor generosity, campus leadership and smart investments, The Globe reported.
